Online database??

Hi.
I have a web server which contains some database files. (www.mydomain.com/data/database.mdb)
Users who visit the webpage are authorized through those databases. What I want to do is write a VB program which anyone in the world who has access to the Internet can run it. Using this program I want to connect to those databases on my web server and update and recieve some information. (As permision goes, i have FULL access to the web sever directoies)
PLEASE HELP me since I really need to do this. Please either post here or e-mail me at [email protected]

Thanks a lot
Soheil

You'd need to have a program running on the server to act as an interface to the TCP/IP network. Check out RDO, though.

What's RDO?

Remote Data Objects. They're specifically for connecting to a remote database.

Back to thinking straight: Are you using the DB to authenticate who can view a web page?

I feel I must point out that RDO only works on IE, as it is client side (it caches the requested recordsets onto the user's machine)

depending on the technology requirements you could use SQL Server for remote database access, or you could use Active Server Pages if you want to keep it as a Access DB, and wish for the user's to view on the URL.

So I guess my question is, what are your criteria's, what are the requirements. And what reasources do you have availible to you ( like do you run an NT machine with IIS4 on it, or you just a home user on Win98, that uses what he has from VS6 and Office97 ?)

Yes I use Access to authenticate people on my webpage. I'm currently making the webpage offline and testing it on PWS on Windows 2000. But eventually it will go on a Web hosting comapny's server with either Windows 2000 Advance Server or WinNT. I'm not sure if I can use SQl since I'm not that familiar with it. This database on the web server contains some info which I want to be able to searech though them using a VB program.
C.S

I don't think that you can connect to an Access database like that. The only real way is to use a proper DB server, such as SQL Server, Oracle, or mySQL (free and v. easy to use).

If you use Access 2000, you can build a data access pages and can place to your server. But to display data access pages you could use IE5 Browser or other browser which
support XML format.

Thanks.
alwsid

Yes, but then they have to be using IE5...it's a very bad idea to insist on a particular browser. He may also not have Access 2000...

For simplicity's sake, you're probably better off learning how to use SQL server or mySQL. If you have a big budget and even bigger requirements, Oracle is about as good as it gets.

Back to not using them, have a VB CGI program running on the server to act as an interface to the Access database. that way it should work on pretty much anything.

I'm intrested in learning mySQL. WHat's the best book or website I can learn from.
Thanks a lot

mySQL is available free from http://www.mysql.com

There is a very comprehensive manual (about 1.7megs of html), and plenty of sample apps. There is also a myODBC driver as well, so it can be used with Access. Unfortunately, it does not currently work with ADO. That is not so much of a problem, though, since there is a well-defined C API for it.